19 August 2006

Pinewood Studios

How cool is my job? Popped out to our office at Pinewood Studios, home to James Bond, Aliens and so many brilliant films that my head explodes just thinking about it. Sadly it was between projects, and pretty quiet. Nonetheless, went and saw the big outdoor water tank, with its vast blue FX screen backdrop. Apparently there were still remains of a Casino Royale set up there until just recently, but nothing for me to see. Tried to get into the underwater tank, but it was closed.

Not to be defeated, I had a nice stroll around (though it started raining). They've named some of the streets inside Pinewood after Bond - Goldfinger Avenue, Broccoli Lane - and I saw a building labelled "Casino Royale FX". I circumnavigated the famous "007 Stage", for its day the largest sound stage ever built. Sadly it was recently damaged by fire, but it was interesting to see all the bits and pieces being cleaned out. I did manage to find one interesting piece of detritus - a thin wooden notice board with "Casino Royale" stenciled on it, and some production notes. (I will be a good boy and keep the details to myself.)

Not much else to see: the "Stanley Kubrick" building where they're working on The Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass' named carpark, studio for the The Weakest Link television show, Pinewood's Academy Awards and a shed full of facehuggers and latex aliens (plus something that I could swear is Arfur the Worm from Meet the Feebles).

I have walked in the footsteps of giants!

Paddington Station

At Paddington Station, I met a certain Peruvian fellow with a fondness for marmalade sandwiches and cocoa. (In all fairness, but for the hat, this bronze representation looks more like Alf.)

High density living

There are so many people in London, that everyone is super protective of their own little tiny piece of property. Hence the extremely common phenomena of the multiple authorial touch on a single roof!

Charles II

Anna and I caught up with my buddy Hugo (ex-Minters), who has joined us in London. Poor bastard has gone down the 'work in hardcore law firm' route, and is finding his hours happily eaten away by Simmons & Simmons. Anyway, we had a bit of fun unwinding in Soho. Nothing dodgy - just a few drinks, some average but overpriced Italian food, and some shenanigans involving a statue of Charles the Second.

11 August 2006

London Underground

I work right in the heart of Soho, and am one of the several million lucky people who catch the Victoria line at 6pm.

On a happier note, I finally saw one of the famous little black Tube mice :)

06 August 2006

Mr. Lawyer

I have been waiting to start my new job, so I took some temporary paralegal work this week, with one of the UK's big law firms. It's funny, there was a lot I missed about private practice - the fruit basket, the pretty good coffee machine, occasional free sandwiches - but sitting there in a suit and tie summarising contracts as part of an endless due diligence review... well, let's just say the in-house decision was a good call.

Anyway, it was still nice to play 'corporate' for a few days and the building was very flash. (For London that is. Due to the enormous property prices here, there is little additional spending on office overheads. Buddle Findlay is a million times more swanky than Slaughter & May.)

I now start my proper job on Monday, so am very excited. I had a brief meeting with them this week, and it looks like I'll be dropped in the deep end. But there's nothing quite like a challenge. And the promise of a trip to Amsterdam to attend a media expo. :)

Anna and I have been flat-hunting this weekend. Never a lot of fun, at least we are getting out and about and seeing a bit more of the city. We took a bus from Golders Green to Swiss Cottage, and then walked to Queen's Park via Kilburn. Our route took us (momentarily, and at the wrong end from the studio) over Abbey Road. One of the places we looked at has a nest of foxes in the backyard. If we end up living there, perhaps we'll SEE THEM!

Spent the afternoon in Knightsbridge. Anna was very excited about going to Harrod's, but when we got there we found a group of animal rights protestors outside the main entrance. Apparently Harrod's has begun selling real animal furs again. Very sad, and I hope they backtrack on this soon (especially since I found they had WWF brand plush animals for sale). We still went in, but agreed not to buy anything. It's still magnificent, and I felt like I was going back in time when I entered the toy department (I picked up a sweet racing kit here when I was six). What a shame...

Still, not to be defeated, we had a bit of a spree in the neighbouring shops. I bought a pair of jandals from that slapper Kelly Osbourne's shop for £2.40.

01 August 2006

Life in Golders Green

We're settling into a routine at last - Golders Green is a very nice area. Our street reminds me of Victoria Ave: lots of big houses and trees. And as you can see from the picture, we can't really fault the view from our window, a far cry from where most of our friends are staying. We have a month to figure out where we want to live next, but I think we may now be looking for something with a comparable outlook.

Anna has just had her first week at work. It's been quite tiring for her - we're not used to getting up early! Not to mention the long subway rides on either end of her day, plus the heat. Yuck.

I have a job now too. I got a couple of offers, which was very nice, though I had a tough decision to make - choosing between £ and the chance to work within the film industry. Obviously I had to take the industry job (in-house lawyer), so I look forward to seeing how it goes. I don't start for another couple of weeks though, and despite looking, it doesn't appear that I will be able to get any temp work in the meanwhile.

Never mind, I shall enjoy seeing a bit more of London before starting. The acclimitisation continues - some times I feel almost as if I am back home, but then I'll find myself in Piccadilly Circus, another world entirely. I do get homesick, but the other day I stumbled across William Blake and Daniel de Foe's graves while travelling to a job interview, exactly the kind of life experiences we came here for.

I went to the Prince Charles Theatre on Friday - films for £1! - and finally saw the adaptation of Alan Moore's V for Vendetta. I was pleasantly surprised - they haven't buggered this one up! It was also wonderfully resonant to watch the film in the heart of London, where the story is set. On the way home I passed the Old Bailey, which is blown up at the start of the film. Neat!

Anna and I also had a nice big walk around Hampstead Heath on the weekend. It's very beautiful, and just the tonic for homesick kiwis - trees, bushwalks, fields, birds - but also foreign in its own way. We saw people swimming and fishing in duckweed-covered ponds, visited the Stone of Free Speech and spotted some rabbits and a squirrel. Finding a fox is our new holy grail!